cross-posted from: https://infosec.pub/post/48796725

An EU court has said the manufacture of private jets can’t be excluded from a list of activities deemed to be environmentally sustainable, fuelling concerns about the greenwashing of the emissions of the super-rich.

The list, intended to provide an ⁠overview of green investments, previously excluded aircraft for private or commercial business aviation due to their high emissions compared with other forms of transport following a 2023 decision by the European Commission.

The court argued that the 2023 ruling was made with a number of errors, including that other modes of transport couldn’t necessarily be seen as low-carbon alternatives as they “lack the flexibility and speed” of private jets.

cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/onion/p/1232616/the-trump-administration-spent-at-least-11-billion-paying-federal-workers-not-to-work

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/48886162

cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/onion/p/1232443/california-senators-kill-bill-barring-registered-sex-offenders-from-running-for-public-o

A new state law limits Florida communities’ aims to offset greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the global climate and intensifying disasters such as hurricanes.

Specifically, HB 1217 prohibits local governments from pursuing net-zero emissions goals. At least 10 cities and counties have implemented such policies, including Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando, and Leon County, where Tallahassee, the state capital, is located. But the new law will not necessarily upend these policies, said Bradley Marshall, senior attorney at Earthjustice, an advocacy group.

“It’s certainly meant to scare municipalities and local governments from trying to do things to further net-zero policies,” he said. “Now, its exact impact and what it exactly prohibits is probably up for some debate. Things that are adjacent to it—emissions reductions and even climate change reduction policies—on their face will not run afoul at all of a ban on adopting a net zero policy.”

On June 26, the County Manager of Henrico County, Virginia, John Vithoulkas, sent an email to thousands of county employees asking them to help the local government conserve electricity. “Beginning July 1st, the rate we pay for electricity used in all Henrico County government and school facilities will increase dramatically — by 25%, increasing costs by an estimated $5 million next fiscal year. We anticipate more rate increases for electricity in the years ahead,” a copy of the email obtained by 404 Media said (emphasis his).

The Central Asian country built a futuristic city to host the World's Fair and polish its own brand. One small problem: it forgot to invite guests.

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THE HOUSES OF the Oireachtas [Irish Parliament] Commission is set to splash out €400,000 to keep Leinster House stocked with its own brand of mid-range red and white wine.

The bespoke-labelled booze has proven to be a big hit in the Dáil [House of Commons] bar since it was launched at the end of 2013, accounting for 17% of all drinks revenue at the venue last year.

A total of 4,851 glasses and 1,063 bottles were sold in the bar, as well as two whole cases at a cost of €180 each. Employees at Leinster House also availed of a staff discount to purchase 50 bottles at €12 each.

Well I could see how that makes sense...

Alice* says she feels “not in the slightest” guilty about using ChatGPT to complete training tasks, saying it is easy to get away with as long as you instruct chatbots to avoid the usual telltale signs of AI output, like a preponderance of em-dashes. “It’s only the sloppiest of users that get caught,” she says. “Anyone with a modicum of awareness around AI hallmarks can tell their output not to use them, and at that point what are you going to do?”

Another worker, Bob*, worked for a training platform called Outlier. Initially, he was tasked with AI training, which he says he illicitly used AI for, and was then promoted to a leadership role where part of his job was to catch others doing the same thing.